I thought I'd hit the jackpot when this peeked up at me in the local woods. It matched the description of summer truffle, tastes nutty but doesn't smell of anything. – Lynda Jones, Rooskey, Co Leitrim
Yes, it is a summer truffle.
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I found this mushroom growing in the timber and soil litter beside the floor of our wood store. The colour was the most amazing deep green/blue. – Helen Bourke, Ballinure, Co Tipperary
It's one of the roundhead species, either Stropharia caerulea or Saeruginisa, says fungal expert Dr Kieran Connolly.
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On holidays in the south of France at the end of September we shared our apartment with a little fellow like this one in the photo. Three weeks after coming home we saw this creature on our stairs. Is it possible we brought it home in our luggage? – Marguerite Costelloe Ballina, Co Tipperary
Yes, indeed. It looks like a wall gecko. which is found in houses all over the Mediterranean area.
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On holidays in the Canaries we saw an extraordinary number of painted lady butterflies on a particular variety of bush. When we walked past they flew up in a cloud and were very active throughout the day. - Paddy Demery, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
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We spotted a hoopoe on the grass in Weaver's Point, Crosshaven, Co Cork. - Rosemary Robertson, Crosshaven, Co Cork
The hoopoe is a scarce but annual visitor to the south coast from southern Europe.